God Weird Fairy

Chapter 449

The banquet hall of the Cangling Pass garrison commander's mansion was brightly lit.

Nan Yi glanced around and found that although the hall was simply furnished, its style was quite different from that of the Li Dynasty. The sandalwood and silk tapestry were decorated with lotus patterns.

At this moment, Yuan Yingdao raised his celadon wine cup, his face beaming with smiles: "Your Excellency is new to the Kan Dynasty, so please drink this cup of wine to cleanse your dust."

Nan Yi sipped the wine, its clear flavor carrying a hint of sandalwood, making one feel as if bathed in divine light, washing away the dust of the world and nourishing the soul.

However, its brewing method is quite different from that of the Li Dynasty.

Nan Yi, after making his own assessment, put down his wine cup and asked with a smile, "I have come to stop the war. I wonder if your country has already issued any regulations regarding this matter?"

"The agreement to cease hostilities has long been agreed upon by our emperor and the six ministers. We only need your esteemed envoy to travel north to finalize the details before the agreement can be implemented," Yuan Yingdao said with a laugh. "However, the details are beyond my knowledge. Your esteemed envoy will need to arrive in the city tomorrow to discuss the details with the governor."

Upon hearing this, Nan Yi gave a half-smile.

The agreement to cease hostilities will only be valid if he personally agrees to it.

In essence, however, this was Nan Yi begging Kan Chao to agree to stop the war so that Emperor Tianqi could clean up the mess.

Nan Yi, being a guest, would go along with the host's wishes, at most arguing a few words about the details of the agreement, but he could not change the overall situation.

As the eldest son of the governor, how could Yuan Yingdao truly be completely unaware of this?
Although he hadn't managed to get any hints beforehand, the more evasive Yuan Yingdao was, the more certain Nan Yi became, secretly believing that the method of fulfilling the contract set by Kan Dynasty must be aimed at him.

He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks, chewed it slowly, and then said, "We are in Kanchao and are unfamiliar with the place. How to arrange things is entirely up to Yuan Caozheng."

Soon, Yuan Yingdao poured another cup of wine and changed the subject, talking about the True Qi Water industry that Nan Yi had recently been developing in Li Dynasty.

During the meal, the two exchanged witty remarks amidst the clinking of glasses. They appeared to be chatting and laughing, but in reality, each harbored their own thoughts and were subtly trying to figure out the other's intentions.

After the banquet, Nan Yi and the others were led to their arranged accommodations to rest.

Nothing was said that night, except that Nan Yi repeatedly asked Zhao Lang about the Yuan family's situation through telepathic communication.

The reason Yan Rong sent Zhao Lang to accompany him, besides escorting him, was because Zhao Lang had long been dealing with Yuanzhou and was familiar with the local situation, so he could answer Nan Yi's questions.

The next morning, everyone was ready to set off.

Yuan Yingdao and his entourage were also in the group, and they were to return to Yuantian City, the capital of Yuanzhou Prefecture.

This time, instead of riding horses, we will take the steam trains that are already common in Kanchao.

Upon arriving at the station, Yuan Yingdao pointed to the massive brass beast lying quietly on the tracks and introduced it, saying, "Your Excellency, please take a look. This is the latest steam train built in Yuanzhou, called the Yuanlong."

As they spoke, Yuan Yingdao secretly observed the changes in the expressions of Nan Yi and the others.

Even the Xuan Tie Guards would show a strange look when they saw the Yuanlong, but Yuan Yingdao saw a little curiosity in Nan Yi's eyes, but more than that, he was calm—as if the brass train, which was more than thirty feet long, was just an ordinary thing to him.

This scene made Yuan Yingdao involuntarily narrow his eyes slightly, pondering in his heart.

However, to be fair, Nan Yi, who comes from the Blue Star Tianxia and is used to high-speed trains, would not be surprised to see a steam train.

Even at first glance, he thought the train was a bit small.

But there were also some unexpected aspects.

Nan Yi looked up and saw that the train's front resembled a lifelike dragon's head, with two crystal-clear pearls embedded in its eye sockets; the train body was covered with intricate patterns engraved in the interlayer, with faint golden light flowing through the patterns, which in turn outlined the shape of a dragon's body covered with scales on the surface.

"The power of steam combined with formations?" Nan Yi looked at it with interest. "That's quite ingenious."

This world possesses extraordinary abilities, whose technologies far surpass those of Earth.

However, just as the Tianxia Society on Blue Star distinguishes between civilian, military, and laboratory technologies, many of the methods used by cultivators in this world have not been popularized to the civilian level.

Therefore, at first glance, one might think that the level of civilization in this mortal world is similar to that of the ancient civilization in the previous life.

However, as times change and the world evolves, civilian technology will eventually rise accordingly.

In particular, the Kan Dynasty did not separate immortals and mortals like the Li Dynasty. Whether or not to commercialize extraordinary technologies depended solely on cost considerations. The Kan Dynasty governed the country through merit, and even mortals could sell their faith power in exchange for merit, thus participating slightly in the flow of merit among cultivators.

This means that the same steam technology would be combined with extraordinary technologies such as formations and weapon crafting in the Kan Dynasty; but in the Li Dynasty, it might be combined at the military level, but at the civilian level, it would only be a simple steam technology.

Under such circumstances, the idea of ​​learning from the barbarians' superior techniques to subdue them is nothing short of a pipe dream.

Therefore, the future of Lichao can only be, and must be, the path of true qi martial arts.

Nan Yi pondered for a moment, then calmly followed Yuan Yingdao onto the train and sat down in a private room at the back of the carriage.

The train started slowly.

Although it was a steam train, Nan Yi felt as if he were on flat ground in the private compartment at the back of the train, without the slightest roar.

As for the speed... Nan Yi looked out the car window and saw the scenery on both sides rushing past. He secretly estimated that it was almost the same as when a car was running on the highway in his previous life.

He exclaimed, "This train is indeed ten times faster than a fine horse."

Yuan Yingdao nodded and smiled: "It's not only fast, but also stable. As long as there is enough fuel, it can run for several days in a row. And people can take the opportunity to rest and recharge while in the car."

As he spoke, Yuan Yingdao poured Nan Yi a full glass of wine.

It must be said that people from the Kan Dynasty especially enjoy drinking.

Even the private rooms on the train are equipped with alcoholic beverages.

In the Li Dynasty, tea and wine were equally popular. Some people preferred wine, while others loved tea.

However, in the Kan Dynasty, almost everyone drank alcohol, and they even drank it like water, making it an indispensable part of their daily lives.

It can truly be said that while wine and meat pass through the intestines, the Dharma remains in the heart.

The key issue is that Nan Yi couldn't refuse. In the Kan Dynasty, saying one doesn't want to drink alcohol is like refusing to drink water—a completely disrespectful act.

He had no choice but to follow local customs, accept the wine cup, and sip it while chatting with Yuan Yingdao about topics that were not considered sensitive, such as the structure of steam trains.

As the train travels north, the scenery gradually changes, transforming from barren mountains and forests into neat farmlands, with many steam-powered machines operating in the fields.

It can be said that with the popularization of steam technology combined with formations and weapon crafting techniques, which has sparked a revolution in all industries, Kan Dynasty has already risen to the top among the four countries in terms of economy.

It's no wonder that Emperor Tianqi was so eager to launch the Northern Expedition; in his eyes, the longer it dragged on, the greater the gap between the two sides would become.

But Nan Yi still came, intending to postpone the war between Kanli by making an agreement to stop the fighting.

This not only gives Kanchao time to continue its vigorous development, but also gives him and Zhenqi martial arts a chance to overtake others on a curve.

Nan Yi firmly believed that, in terms of the growth coefficient of farming development, he was definitely above Kan Chao.

The train slowly came to a stop at the train station established in Yuantian City.

Nan Yi got off the train and exited the station, where he saw many Yuanzhou officials who had come to greet him.

Countless gazes and divine senses fell upon him, some with goodwill, some with curiosity, and some with hostility.

Nan Yi seemed oblivious, only glancing at a man in official robes being surrounded by a crowd outside the station.

The man's appearance was somewhat similar to Yuan Yingdao's, but his eyes were more profound and his demeanor more composed. He was none other than Yuan Shida, the governor of Yuanzhou.

Yuan Shida cupped his hands in greeting: "The envoy has come from afar and must be tired from his journey. I have prepared a banquet to welcome the envoy and wash away the dust of his journey."

Nan Yi's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself that it was another banquet, and hurriedly returned the greeting: "I am new here and hope that Governor Yuan will take good care of me."

Yuan Shida chuckled and gestured with his hand, "Please."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(End of this chapter)